Shopping at El Cheap Grocery

Now you are ready to explore new territory. I challenge you to go where you’ve never been before-El Cheap Grocery Inc. Before you start your venture you need to know the rules of the game. Take a quarter with you as you venture into the store. El Cheap keeps their carts in jail. You have to deposit a quarter to unlock the cart. You get your quarter back when you return your cart to the jail. This is a great motivator for customer to return carts to their proper place. Take your own grocery bags from Fancy Grocery across town—no one will bat an eye. El Cheap charges for bags. Leave your credit card and checkbook at home—no El Cheap is not free-they only take cash and debit cards. What you will find at El Cheap is basic groceries at great prices. As you make your way through the no-frills aisles you will find lots of generics and a few name brands. Be bold –try some generics—they often come off the same line as name brand items they just have a different label.

What El Cheap does have:
Good prices
A total lack of ambivalence
Two flavors of jello
Two flavors of pudding
A few name brands
Lots of generic canned goods
Courteous and fast checkers.
And great chocolate! (often from Germany)
Good quality sugar and flour.

What El cheap does NOT have:
Great lighting
Beautifully displayed produce
Free cookies for the kids (were they really free?)
Free balloons for the kids
A penny pony
Pizza smells wafting through the doors
Free samples
Free Coffee
Baggers
A Deli
A floral shop
Great Holiday displays
Everything

In case you are wondering... El Cheap is ALDI. If you need to save money and feed a small army it's the place to go.

Brown bagging it!

The number one reason to brown bag it is to save money.
Here's the math...

Number of people not eating at home X cost of lunch X five days per week =
the amount of money saved per week.

A school year is usually 36 weeks.
For adults multiply by the number of weeks worked per year. If you have two weeks of vacation then you work 50 weeks.

Example Kids:
Three kids X $2.75(cost of a school lunch) X 5 days X 36 weeks of school = $1485

Adults:
Two adults X $4.00(cost of eating out at noon) X 5 days X 50 weeks of work = $2000

Adults: Coffee and Vending
Two adults X $1.50 X 5 days X 50 weeks of work= $750
Based on the above calculation three school lunches plus two adult lunches costs $19.25 per day.
That’s a lot of money.

Brown bagging is NOT economical if you simply go the grocery and buy prepackaged pudding, cute little potato chip bags, kids microwave lunches and Jell-O.
A homemade brown bag lunch costs about $1.50 per person. A brown bag lunch for 5 people would cost $7.50 per day. $19.25 minus $7.50 is $11.75 saved per day!
If I save $11.75 per day for 20 minutes of effort- my hourly rate is $35.25 per hour. It may well be worth your time to pack a lunch.

Here are some ideas:
Sandwiches (be creative) leftover ham, turkey or meatloaf makes great sandwiches.
Split a french loaf of bread longways and fill with meat and cheese. Cut these into lunchsize sandwiches. Package individual sandwiches in freezer storage bags without condiments. Condiments can be added at lunchtime. Keep your mustard or mayo in the refrigerator at work. Finish by packing a little bag of vegies in the morning to add to your thawed out sandwich at noon.

Make a big batch of finger Jell-O on the weekend. Make two boxes of pudding and pour into individual containers.

Freeze leftover pieces of cake, bars or brownies.

Baby carrots

Cherry tomatoes

Pour pretzels, finger cereals, and goldfish from a big bag put into snack size bags. This is a good weekend job for the kids. I recommend using a ¼ cup measuring cup.

Celery with peanut butter (celery must be dry or peanut butter will slide off) add raisins for Ants on a Log.

For adults with access to a microwave: fill microwaveable dishes with supper leftovers.
Soup, spaghetti, and pasta bakes can be put in these containers at suppertime and be ready to go. No extra work. No wasted leftovers.

Please share your brown bag ideas.

Money...Rule Number One!

Don't lose it!
Well... obviously you say. But there are lots of ways to lose your money. Let me mention a few...
1. Shopping. Don't buy stuff you don't need.
2. Bad business ideas. I once had a on-line toy store. I got out before I lost too much money but I learned carrying an inventory of any kind is really a crap shoot. Just because you think it is a cool item does not mean it's gonna sell.
3. Bad business partner. Does your business partner like to spend money? Is your business partner less conservative with money than you are? If you answer yes to either of these RUN!
4. Bad business partner part two... does you business partner desperately need your/our money? If you answer yes to this one RUN faster.
5.Risky investments. Do your homework. Understand what you are investing in.
6. Dishonest financial "advisor". That's what FINRA is for. Look them up!
7. Unqualified financial "advisor". I know one financial advisor that invests for smart engineers. The "advisor"never went to college, operated his "financial services" for ten years without being licensed. I personally knew the guy and wouldn't have trusted him to handle taking care of my dog let alone my money. Repeat ... look them up on FINRA.
8. Dishonest doctors or other service people. I once went to a podiatrist... found him on the Internet. Great web site. He charged me over $1200 for two office calls and three x-rays (I think he had a fake machine because I never saw the x-rays). THEN I got smart and googled the guy. He had been circuit court numerous times (mostly for his billing practices). I payed the bill (ouch!) and got out before he found something else to charge me for. My feet still hurt too!
9. Dishonest employees. Google them too.
10. Waste eliminate this as much as possible. Eat leftovers. Return items that do not meet your needs.
11. Guard your identity. Don't put your social security number on job applications until your are hired. Remember piles of applications lay on people's desks and anyone that works there could potentially lift your social security number.
12. Don't eat out or visit Starbucks very often.

Butterfly

Butterfly

Gray Tree Frog

The Packers and Horseback Riding?

I am working on my certification for therapeutic horseback riding. This certification will enable me to teach horseback riding to children and adults with disabilities. One part of my test involves riding a dressage pattern in front of two judges. This has been a huge physical challenge for me. I have done exercises, Pilate's, stretches, weight lifting, ballet barre exercises and taken about a million riding lessons and I am still struggling with getting my body to move in motion with the horse. HOWEVER when I look back I see myself improving and getting stronger. It has been a long hard road with many sore muscles.

Last night we went to a Green Bay Packer game. The teams came out on the field and lined up for their exercise routines. As I sat there in the stands I began to notice "Hey I do that exercise for horseback riding". The Packers and I do A LOT of the same exercises. I realized they didn't get on the team by laying on the couch complaining about their life... they worked hard to reach their goal.

Please share how you press through discouragement to keep working toward a goal.

The 4-H Fair

I love the 4-H fair. I was a member for 10 years. I learned how to cook and sew by doing many projects. The 4-H fair in my county was quite competitive. The judges were tough and applied Purdue University rigor to child created projects. I struggled along for five years only receiving red and (and worse yet!) white ribbons. I decided I would give 4-H one more year and if I didn't receive a blue (1st place) ribbon I would just quit! Well, wouldn't you know it... my sixth year in 4-H I won my first blue ribbon. I stayed in 4-H and went on to win many more blue ribbons and even one reserve champion. I was really glad that I was persistent and continued to strive for the ribbon I wanted.

Amber Rehberg, Youth Extension Agent of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin says this so well in her monthly "Letter to 4-H Families":

The Fair is a special celebration of accomplishments but the real purpose of 4-H is about developing Blue Ribbon Kids. We have had a long history of youth and adults striving to make their best better, not only for themselves but for others. Whether the project involves a camera, a cow or a cookie, the ultimate goal is to help young people become the best they can be by gaining valuable life skills through experiential learning.

4-H is for the kids! If their photo or calf or cookies wins first place, that's great. If it doesn't, that may be even better. With the help and encouragement of parents, leaders and others, youngsters with the red or white ribbons have opportunities to grow and learn. For some the blue ribbon says, I know all I need to know; there is no reason to strive to do better; a blue ribbon should mean, I accomplished my goals for this year, it's time to raise the bar!

Fairs, shows and contests give everyone the opportunity to strive to do their best, to learn to cooperate as well as compete, to express their views and concerns and get along with others in the process. We all like to be considered the winner, but winning comes in different forms for each of us. As adults we need to do our part to help kids develop a winning attitude and sense of accomplishment, no matter what color the ribbon might be.

Keep working for your goal!